Witness recalls escape from Oakland warehouse during fire

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Aaron Marin was convinced his life was over as smoke engulfed a California warehouse in what was the country's deadliest building fire in more than a decade.

Marin recalled during a court hearing on Wednesday that people who were unable to escape the blaze came up a flight of stairs shaking their heads and saying, "No."

"I sat there and accepted the fact that it was just over for me," he testified about the fire on Dec. 2, 2016 that killed 36 people.

Marin was able to get out and took the stand as the first witness in a preliminary hearing for the two men charged in the blaze at the Oakland building known as the Ghost Ship.